ST. BENILDE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH

1901 Division Street • Metairie, Louisiana 70001

Church Office: (504) 834-4980 • Church Fax: (504) 831-5810 • Church Email: stbenildechurch@cox.net

www.stbenilde.org

CLERGY Rev. Robert T. Cooper, Pastor Rev. H.L. Brignac, Sacramental Asst. Deacon Biaggio DiGiovanni Deacon Stephen Gordon Deacon Clifford Wright

BAPTISMS First and Third Sundays of the month at 12 Noon. Please call the Parish

Office for more information.

MATRIMONY Please contact a priest/deacon 8 months prior to your wedding.

FUNERALS Arrangements may be made at the Parish Office.

Sunday, August 20, 2017 Twentieth Sunday in Ordinary Time

ORDINARY FAMILIES

EXTRAORDINARY FAITH

DEVOTIONS Holy Hour in Church

Monday, 6:00-7:00 p.m.

Novena to Our Lady of Perpetual Help Following 7 a.m. Mass on Tuesday

NEWCOMERS Call the Parish Office to receive a New

Parishioner Registration Packet.

ST. VINCENT DE PAUL SOCIETY

St. Benilde Conference (504) 233-3246

ST. BENILDE SCHOOL Mr. Matt Downey, Principal

1801 Division Street • Metairie, LA (504) 833-9894

MASS TIMES Saturday Vigil … 4 p.m.

Sunday … 9:00, 11:00 a.m. & 6 p.m. Monday—Friday … 7:00 a.m.

Monday and Thursday … 5:30 p.m. First Saturday … 8:45 a.m.

HOLY DAYS OF OBLIGATION See Inside the Bulletin for Schedule

CONFESSION TIMES Saturday … 3:00—3:45 p.m. Sunday … 5:00—5:45 p.m. Monday … 6:00—6:45 p.m.

and by appointment at the Parish Office

DIVINE MERCY ADORATION CHAPEL Eucharistic Adoration from 7:00 p.m. Sunday

till 4:00 p.m. Saturday

Parish Motto—Building the Kingdom of God

Ministers of the Liturgy August 19 & 20, 2017

Saturday - 4 P.M. Intention: Dorothy Van Hoven, Hubert LaBorde,

Merle & Charles Dittmer, Patrick C. McKinney,

Jennie Spitale, Mary Cali Kerth & Jacob Kerth, Sr.,

George Spaulding, Rose Marie Greco Federico,

Dale Forshag, Evelyn Arnoult, Dolores Fallon,

Melissa Mendel Zimmerman, Bill Lynette, Ty Leon (L),

Wilmon (Butch) Little, Floyd Volz, Sr., Joseph Segari,

Ray Vitrano, Sr., Judith Theisges, Flora Maria Be

Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion:

R. Aucoin, K. Hartdegan

Cantor: Trish Foti Organist: Jared Croal

Sunday - 9 A.M. Intention: Edward F. McCabe II

Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion:

C. Frederick, L. Director, C. & R. Ayers

Song Leaders: Traditional Choir

Sunday - 11 A.M. Intention: Ebling Family, Joyce Fontenelle,

Lina Sosa, Miriam Whitman, Mary & Melvin Ducote,

Dianne Z. Harrison, Joseph Donald Bernard,

Josephine McKenzie, Marie Crawford, Kelvin Ducote,

Ray Waguespack, Donald Bordelon, Myron Yochim,

Todd Hillburn, Paul J. Hymel, Jr., Pierre Thibodeaux,

Dolores Sabathe, Sr. M. Therese Fletchinger, SSND

Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion:

P. & R. Serio, D. Childers, R. Oleksik

Song Leaders: Contemporary Choir

Sunday - 6 P.M. Intention: Parishioners

Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion:

M. Drawe, D. Powers

Cantor: Lauren Gisclair Pianist: Beth Kettenring

Weekday Masses Monday 7:00 a.m. Emile Hart

5:30 p.m. Pascal A. Giovingo

Tuesday 7:00 a.m. Pierre Thibodeaux

Wednesday 7:00 a.m. Pierre Thibodeaux

8:15 a.m. Jennie Spitale

Thursday 7:00 a.m. Pierre Thibodeaux

5:30 p.m. Rebecca Couvillon (L)

Friday 7:00 a.m. Pierre Thibodeaux

The Church Sanctuary Lamp burns for the

Gsell-McCabe Family

The Blessed Mother

Votive Lamps burn

For Reparations for Sins

Adoration Chapel

Sanctuary Lamp burns

in memory of

Stuart and Gloria Fourroux

Adoration Chapel Candles

burn in memory of

Deceased Religious

Altar Ladies Week of August 20

J. LeBoeuf, J. Rojas, T. Gsell

Linens Large - B. McCloskey

Small - S. Roniger

The St. Joseph Votive Lamps

burn in

For Families in Difficulty

St. Benilde Catholic Church

The Altar Flowers are in memory of

Deceased Parishioners

Stewardship of Treasure Weekend of August 12 & 13

Envelopes …………………………….……...$3,938.00

Loose ………………………………….……….3,471.00

Electronic Giving ………………………….……250.00

Repairs & Maintenance ……………………….995.00

Msgr. Richaud Fund …………………………...180.00

Totaling …………………………………...…$8,834.00

“Let us focus on generosity, or returning God’s gifts

with increase, through the generous sharing of our time,

talent and treasure.”

~ Fr. Cooper

Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion

Aug. 26/27 4 PM J. Rodosta, L. Segari 9 AM J. & G. Rojas, R. Meche, B. O’Hara 11 AM S. Gordon, L. Peters, J. Hutchinson, J. Hutchinson 6 PM J. Zeringue, T. Kettenring

St. Benilde Catholic Church Volume 35 Issue 34

Parish Motto—Building the Kingdom of God

CCD Registration

St. Benilde’s CCD Program is offered to pre-K4 through 12th grade students not currently attending Catholic school. Classes begin on Sunday, Sept. 11, in the main school building. We teach

religion from 9:30 a.m. until 10:45 a.m. Registration forms are available in the Church vestibule and in the Parish Office. The usual fee/tuition is $50 per student. For more information, please visit www.stbenilde.org/ccd or call Mary Kelly at 504-834-4980 ext. 113.

Annulment Writing Workshop

The Archdiocese of New Orleans will offer a

writing workshop for persons seeking an annulment

in the Catholic Church or for persons responding to

an annulment. The workshop will be held in the St.

Benilde Teen Center in Metairie. The series will be

for five (5) Tuesdays, September 12, September 19,

September 26, October 3, and October 10, 2017.

Hours are 7:30 PM - 9:00 PM. The materials for the

series cost $25.00. To register go to our website

http://www.arch-no.org/offices/family-life-

apostolate/#annulments. For more information,

please call Cathy, 504-861-6243.

Two New Clubs for Boys and Girls

We are excited to announce the Little Flowers

Girls Club and the Blue Knights Boys Club

starting at St. Benilde this year! Both groups will

meet once a month for an hour, from 4:30 – 5:30

PM. Little Flowers will meet in the School

Library; Blue Knights will meet in the Teen

Center. The clubs are open to children age five (5)

and up. We will learn about saints, virtues, complete

projects and crafts, and grow in friendship as we

grow in faith. The first meeting is scheduled for

September 22. For more

information or to register, for Little

Flowers please contact Casey

Sprehe-504-583-4465

caseysprehe@gmail.com; and for

Blue Knights Kevin Sprehe at 504-

669-7271 sprehe19@gmail.com.

Fr. Cooper’s Corner

A Catholic School: Discipleship Formation (Part II)

Continued from last week: The difference between instruction and discipleship is that the former imparts knowledge but the latter changes our identity; it gives us a different worldview and forms our character. In an August 2015 article for Our Sunday Visitor, the head of the University of Notre Dame’s Liturgy Center Timothy P. O’Malley stated, “Catholic identity, in the end, is not a free-floating term, reducible to a series of universal principles. Rather, it is the result of immersing oneself into a series of narratives and practices found within the Church that constitute a way of life.” To understand the roots of discipleship, we need to look at the relationship between Jewish rabbis and their disciples. The book Sitting at the Feet of Rabbi Jesus: How the Jewishness of Jesus Can Transform Your Faith puts it in these terms: “To follow a rabbi meant something other than sitting in a classroom and absorbing his lectures. Rather, it involved a literal kind of following, in which disciples often traveled with, lived with, and imitated their rabbis, learning not only from what they said but from what they did – from their reactions to everyday life as well as from the manner in which they lived” (p. 51). The goal, in other words, wasn’t just academic formation but personal transformation. To that end, the disciple would accompany the rabbi on all of his daily rounds: going to court, helping the poor, burying the dead, redeeming slaves, and so on. The disciple sought to be a humble and caring companion, doing personal acts of service and helping the teacher in all things (Ibid). With an awareness of this “discipling” dimension, some of Jesus’ actions that we have heard about so many times take on a new meaning. Think, for example, of when Jesus washed the disciples’ feet, or when He told Peter to put his boat out “into the deep,” after he had fished all night and caught nothing. The multiplication of the loaves and the fish, or Jesus sending out the Apostles to cast out demons and proclaim the Good News also come to mind as times when the Apostles were called to imitate Christ, like a good disciple imitates his master. This concept of imitation is so embedded in the rabbi-disciple relationship that according to a story told in the book Sitting at the Feet of Rabbi Jesus, a man who was visiting Jerusalem said he once noticed “a bent-over rabbi, shuffling

through the streets. Behind the rabbi walked several men, presumably his disciples. Remarkably, each man was also walking bent over” (p. 63). You might say that this seems too difficult or that we aren’t equipped for this. You might say, “We don’t have enough parents who are model Catholics,” or “We can hardly manage to find qualified teachers in each subject area, let alone teachers and administrators that can serve as spiritual rabbis.” But Jesus sees things differently. In the Jewish system of education, young boys would study the Torah until their bar mitzvah and then ask different rabbis if they could become their disciples. Those who didn’t get accepted as disciples would go into practicing a trade like fishing, carpentry, or some other blue-collar job. Think about this: every one of the 12 Apostles was practicing a trade when Jesus called them, and Jesus Himself was a carpenter. That means that they had failed to be

Parish Motto—Building the Kingdom of God

St. Benilde Catholic Church

accepted as a disciple of one of the rabbis. It’s important for each of us to realize that no matter where we are – although not on our terms but His – Jesus can provide us the grace we need to become a master, a rabbi who raises-up disciples. He will never impose Himself on us, but rather, invites us to open our heart and receive Him. If we want to help see our Catholic school succeed in an increasingly hostile secular environment, then we need to ensure that this model of discipleship guides our families, our parish and our school. “A dead thing can go with the stream,” G.K. Chesterton said, “but only a living thing can go against it” (The Everlasting Man). In Forming Intentional Disciples, Sherry Weddell offers what she calls “five thresholds” or stages that I believe should serve as a guide for the different moments and ways that our families and our Catholic school should seek to form disciples. If we guide students through these stages, then we will be able to help them truly encounter Jesus Christ. We will help them become intentional disciples who are alive in Christ and can swim against the stream of the secular culture without being swept away. Those 5 Thresholds, which are based on research done by missionaries, are:

1. Initial trust: Someone makes a positive association with Jesus, the Church, or a Christian believer.

2. Spiritual curiosity: A person is intrigued by or desiring to know more about Jesus, his life, his teachings or some aspect of the Christian faith.

3. Spiritual openness: A person acknowledges to himself or herself and to God that he or she is open to the possibility of personal and spiritual change.

4. Spiritual seeking: The person moves from being essentially passive to actively seeking to know the God who is calling him or her. Intentional discipleship: This is the decision to ‘drop one’s nets.’ To make a conscious commitment to follow Jesus in the midst of his Church as an obedient disciple and to reorder one’s life accordingly.

In addition to being aware of these moments for deeper conversion and encounter, we need to ensure that the educational environment, the curriculum and the witness of our faculty promote a Catholic ethos. The word ethos is a word that we have borrowed from Greek. It means “the characteristic spirit of a culture as manifested in its beliefs and aspirations.” If St. Benilde School has a Catholic ethos, then our beliefs and aspirations will pervade everything. That means that the sacraments, especially Reconciliation and the Eucharist, are an indispensable and frequent part of school life. It also means that the faith informs everything from the art we choose to hang in the halls, to the way students and faculty are expected to behave and dress, to the way the faith is woven into each of the subjects taught. Jacques Maritain, the famous French philosopher and Catholic convert, described the integration of faith, academics and life in a way that I find helpful for understanding how this can work in our school. Has the notion of Christian inspiration or the idea of Christian education the slightest significance when it comes to the teaching of mathematics, astronomy, or engineering? The answer, I think, is that there are of course no Christian mathematics or Christian astronomy or engineering; but if the teacher has Christian wisdom, and if his teaching overflows from a soul dedicated to contemplation, the mode or manner in which his teaching is given—in other words, the mode or manner in which his own soul and mind perform a living and illuminating action on the soul and mind of another human being—will convey to the student and awaken in him something beyond mathematics, astronomy, or engineering: first, a sense of the proper place of these disciplines in the universe of knowledge and human thought; second, an unspoken intimation of the immortal value of truth, and of those rational laws and harmony which are at play in things and who primary roots are in the divine intellect. (Maritain, Education at the Crossroads). In other words, if parents, teachers, administrators, and coaches are themselves disciples, then a Catholic ethos will naturally take root in our school. This transformation will require formation for our faculty and staff that leads them onto the path of discipleship. May God grant us to grace to encourage intentional discipleship at St. Benilde and the strength to persevere despite the challenges!

St. Benilde Catholic Church Volume 35: Issue 34

Parish Motto—Building the Kingdom of God

AUGUST 20, 2017

ST. BENILDE CATHOLIC CHURCH – ID # 113850

1901 DIVISION ST.

METAIRIE, LA 70001

504-834-4980

NANCY CAROLLO

504-834-4980

MONDAY THROUGH THURSDAYS - 9 A.M. TO 3 P.M.

FRIDAYS - 9 A.M. TO 12 NOON

SPECIAL INSTRUCTIONS: